#barbara graham

[mudwerks]

(via PARTNERS IN CRIME - Pulp International)

A couple snared during a police raid on South Coronado Street, in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles. Barbara Graham comforts her handcuffed boyfriend Edward Timmons in a holding room, as a Los Angeles Examiner lensman documents their tender moment. The image belongs to the University of Southern California digital collection of Los Angeles Examiner negatives. It was made today in 1958.

[archivist-crow]

On this day:

THE LAST WISH OF BARBARA GRAHAM

On June 3, 1955, Barbara Graham was executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin, convicted of taking part in the murder of Mabel Monahan. It was said that along with four men, she had gained entry to Monahan's house in search of a gambler's fortune that was hidden there. No fortune was found, and when they left, Monahan was dead; $10,000 worth of jewelery and $500 cash in the victim's purse remained untouched.

Graham swore her innocence up to the end and may have received a lighter sentence, a pardon, or a new trial but for a mistake she made while in prison. A fellow inmate offered to provide her with an alibi for $25,000. Graham agreed. The "inmate" was an undercover policewoman who had taped their conversation. When questioned about her indiscretion, tearful Graham replied, "Oh, have you ever been desperate? Do you know what it means not to know what to do?"

Knowing she was going to die, Graham swore that the men connected with her conviction would die prematurely also. Coincidentally, one of her accomplices had disappeared and was presumed murdered before the trial. Two were executed on the same day as she was. The man who had turned prosecution witness was killed on the Mississippi River when, in a fog, a Dutch freighter rammed the small craft he was riding on. Another man who was in on the plan and gave evidence, but backed out at the last minute, died when he drove into a road obstruction. The district attorney in charge of Graham's prosecution died unexpectedly from cancer, the warden of the San Quentin prison was struck dead by heart failure, and the judge who sentenced her died abruptly, also from cancer.

Text from: Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violins, published by Weiser Books, 2009

[morbidology]

Barbara Graham was born in 1923 in Oakland, California. As a teenager, she spent time at a reformatory and attempted to change her troubled ways. In 1939, she married but within two years, the marriage had fallen apart. Barbra then drifted into sex work and eventually married a mobster by the name of Henry Graham. It was Henry who introduced Barbara to Jack Santo, who was a gang leader. 

Barbara, her husband, Jack, and two other accomplices - Emmett Perkins and John True - set out one night to rob a wealthy elderly woman, Mabel Monahan. Enraged that they could not find any valuables inside Mabel's home, they smothered and beat the elderly woman to death. 

They were quickly apprehended and Barbara became known as “Bloody Babs” in the press. She was sentenced to death after John True testified against the group. She was told that she may receive a stay of execution, to which she replied: “I never got a break in my whole goddamned life and you think I’m going to get one now?” 

On 3 June, 1955, her execution was pushed back from 22:00 to 23:30, to which she said: “Why do they torture me? I was ready to go at ten o’clock.” She was led to the gas chamber and pronounced dead at 11:42. Her last words were: 

“Good people are always so sure they’re right.”

[crimesandcuriosities]

"I am innocent of this crime, I swear to God I am innocent. I hope my baby drops dead if I did it."

Taken on 3rd June 1955, the photograph above captures 31 year old convicted murderer Barbara Graham saying goodbye to her 20 month old son, Tommy, on the day of her execution.

Nicknamed 'Bloody Babs' by the media at the time, Barbara and four male accomplices - Jack Santo, Emmett Perkins, John True and Baxter Shorter - collaborated to rob 64 year old widow Mabel Monohan, as it was rumoured that Mabel kept a large amount of cash hidden in her home.

On 9th March 1953, Barbara knocked on Mabel's front door and asked to borrow her phone, at which point the men forced entry. Once inside, the gang demanded to know the location of her money and jewellery. Mabel bravely refused to disclose the whereabouts of her expensive possessions, to which Barbara responded by pistol whipping Mabel across the head and cracking her skull in the process. She was then later suffocated to death with a pillow.

Baxter Shorter had been shaken up by the attack on Mabel - which he had allegedly wanted no part of - and contacted emergency services to get her some help. Shorter afterwards spoke with police to assist with their investigation into the murder of Mabel Monohan. However, before he could progress any further with his witness statement, he was kidnapped and murdered by Perkins and Santo. This then prompted John True to testify against Perkins, Santo and Graham in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Barbara Graham, Jack Santo and Emmett Perkins were each convicted and sentenced to die in the gas chamber at San Quentin State Prison in California. Barbara was reassuringly advised by a prison official to only breathe in deeply once the gas reached her, in order to ensure an easy and painless death, to which she replied: "How the hell would you know!" After years of maintaining her innocence, she then stated her final words, which were: "Good people are always so sure they're right."

The attempted robbery turned out to be completely pointless, as the gang found nothing valuable and left Mabel's home empty-handed. However, it seems they just missed around $15,000 worth of jewels and money stashed away in one closet they did not ransack, which was situated right near to where Mabel's body was found.

[whilecinemavisionsdancedinmyhead]

I Want to Live! (1958)

[restinpeacemyangel]

"A jó emberek mindig meg vannak győződve arról, hogy ők a jók."-Barbara Graham.

A kaliforniai nőnek már kislányként is megmondta az anyja, hogy "rossz", ezt követően pedig a lány mindent megtett annak érdekében, hogy beteljesítse anyja jóslatát. Prostituált lett, beállt egy rablóbandába, és 1953-ban pisztollyal agyon verte a 64 éves Mabel Monahant. 1955-ben gázkamrában végezték ki.

[luxobnubilata]

dance created by Martha Graham - photographer Barbara Morgan - from the book "Sixteen Dances in Photographic Sequence" 1941

[morbidology]

Barbara Graham was born in 1923 in Oakland, California. As a teenager, she spent time at a reformatory and attempted to change her troubled ways. In 1939, she married but within two years, the marriage had fallen apart. She then drifted into sex work and eventually married a mobster by the name of Henry Graham. It was Henry who introduced Barbara to Jack Santo, who was a gang leader.

 Barbara, her husband, Jack Santo, and two other accomplices - Emmett Perkins and John True - set out one night to rob a wealthy elderly woman, Mabel Monahan. Enraged that they could not find any valuables, they smothered and beat the elderly woman to death.

They were quickly apprehended and Barbara became known as “Bloody Babs” in the press. She was sentenced to death after John True testified against the group. She was told that she may receive a stay of execution, to which she replied: “I never got a break in my whole goddamned life and you think I’m going to get one now?” 

On 3 June, 1955, her execution was pushed back from 22:00 to 23:30, to which she said: “Why do they torture me? I was ready to go at ten o’clock.” She was led to the gas chamber and pronounced dead at 11:42. Her last words were: “Good people are always so sure they’re right.”